Rustic Wild Carrot Seeded Stuffing recipe

Oooh! I'm hooked on making stuffing at the moment. This version has a slightly perfumed, cumin-like addition from the wild carrot seeds. It also incorporates further seasonal wild greens available here in Cornwall in winter.

So if you're looking for a different twist on stuffing read on...

Wild carrot seeds is one of the wild foods I cover in my Wild Food Foraging in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly book. They should be avoided if pregnant.

Wild Carrot Seed Stuffing Recipe

This recipe uses sourdough bread, wild carrot seeds, three-cornered leek and young alexander stems. All foraged ingredients available in winter.

It's a simple recipe that can be baked in a tin or rolled into balls. You may be able to still find carrot seeds in winter. Alternatively use ones you collected in late summer to autumn.

Foraged wild carrot seeds from foraging course in Cornwall and Cornwall wild food book

Ingredients

300 g sourdough bread
1 onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
50 g young alexander stems (or celery)
1 small carrot, grated
small handful three cornered leek (optional)
50g mixed seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower)
1 tbsp dried wild carrot seeds
500 ml hot vegetable or chicken stock

Balls of homemade stuffing — You can also make wild carrot stuffing balls like these (see below for instructions)

Method

Serves 8

You can actually use whatever bread you'd like, but I wanted to create a rustic stuffing with the mild flavour of sourdough. I love sourdough!

Cut the bread into 2 cm cubes and leave to dry out for a couple of days in a tray or large bowl.

Handful of wild three cornered leek gathered from Cornish hedgerows

Preheat the oven at 350°F/180°C/fan 160°C. Finely slice the onion and heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Fry for a couple of minutes over a medium heat. Finely slice the alexander stems or celery and stir until all becomes soft. Add the grated carrot and chopped three cornered leek, stir for a minute. Place the dried bread in a large, heatproof bowl, spoon on the stir fried vegetables followed by the seeds and hot stock. Stir well and leave to sit for a couple of minutes.

Wild carrot seeds collected on foraging course in Cornwall

Press into a 20 cm baking tin, or firmly squeeze and roll into 20 balls and place on a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes and serve warm with meat or vegetable dishes.